Sandy M’s review of Origin in Death (In Death, Book 21) by J.D. Robb
Futuristic Fantasy Romance published Brilliance Audio 20 May 08
I read the first ten or so books in this series years ago, then just got away from it because there’s too many books to read! In 2020 this series will now have fifty-one books, so it’s a bit daunting to even think of getting started again. So when I came across a lone audiobook, I figured why not. I’m glad I did. This is the first time I’ve listened to any book in the series, and while the narrator did irritate me at times, I still enjoyed the whole thing.
My favorite part of it all? Roarke. No different now than it was all those years ago, but I did enjoy hearing that slight Irish lilt when he spoke, whether he was assisting Eve on her current case or making love to her. The man is sex on a stick. As the book begins, Roarke is out of town – off planet – and Eve has just obtained two murder cases from the same scene. Dr. Wilfred Icove Sr’s death is unexpected and quite mysterious, but because Eve is already on scene, she gets to work double time with her partner. Peabody is an okay character for me, but I think it’s mostly because of the narrator that I don’t care for her much. Actually, the only two voices I really like in the narration are Eve’s and Roarke’s.
The scene when Eve comes home one evening to find Roarke at the top of the stairs, be still my hyper-drive beating heart. I love that though he’s gone legit since meeting and marrying Eve, he still has that criminal mindset and connections that Eve uses to her advantage when working a case. As they begin to get a better picture of the doctor’s life and practice, again out of the blue, his son is also murdered. More questions, more detecting, and slowly the answers begin to make sense.
And you’d be surprised at what those answers are. A plastic surgeon who takes what he wants from the best of women to make his own ideal mate? Yeah, sorta like the old Stepford Wives movie. But these docs don’t stop at just one. It’s the children who come long that eventually push these women/mothers away from their men to take drastic measures to ensure their offspring’s safety and longevity. Good for them, despite the fact Eve is more by the book when it comes to those drastic measures.
I think I’m going to be hunting down more audio in this series. The mystery aspect works really well to the ear. And I would love to hear Roarke speaking as often as possible.
Grade:
Summary:
New York Police Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her partner Peabody enter the hallowed halls of the Wilfred B. Icove Center for Reconstructive and Cosmetic Surgery on a case. A hugely popular vid star has been beaten to a bloody pulp – and has killed her attacker in the process. After a post-op interview, Dallas and Peabody confirm for themselves that it’s a clear-cut case of self-defense, but before they can leave the building, another case falls into their hands.
Dr. Wilfred B. Icove himself has been found dead in his office – murdered in a chillingly efficient manner: one swift stab to the heart. Struck by the immaculate condition of the crime scene, Dallas suspects a professional killing. Security discs show a stunningly beautiful woman calmly entering and leaving the building: the good doctor’s final appointment.
Known as “Dr. Perfect,” the saintly Icove devoted his life to his family and his work. His record is clean. Too clean for Dallas. She knows he was hiding something, and suspects that his son, his successor, knows what it is. Then – like father, like son – the young Dr. Icove is killed…with the same deadly precision.
But who is the mystery woman, and what was her relationship with the good doctors? With her husband, Roarke, working behind the scenes, Dallas follows her darkest instincts into the Icoves’ pasts. And what she discovers are men driven to create perfection – playing fast and loose with the laws of nature, the limits of science, and the morals of humanity.
No excerpt available.
